Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr

Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (1 July 1914-4 October 1982) was the President of Iraq from 17 July 1968 to 16 July 1979, succeeding Abdul Rahman Arif and preceding Saddam Hussein. He previously served as Prime Minister of Iraq from 8 February to 18 November 1963, succeeding Abd al-Karim Qasim and preceding Tahir Yahya, and from 31 July 1968 to 16 July 1979, preceding Saddam.

Biography
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr was born on 1 July 1914 in Tikrit, Iraq, and he was the cousin of Saddam Hussein. He worked as a primary school teacher before joining the Iraqi Army and fighting in the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War; in 1956 he was rehabilitated and rejoined the army. al-Bakr helped in bringing down the monarchy in the July 14 Revolution, and he was elected Chairman of the Military Bureau under Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim. In 1963, al-Bakr led the Ramadan Revolution against the unpopular Qasim and became the new Prime Minister with the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, but in November he was expelled from government after the Ba'ath Party was disbanded. From 1964 to 1968 he was underground with the Ba'athists, and in the July 17 Revolution of 1968, the Ba'athists overthrew Abdul Rahman Arif's inefficient regime. al-Bakr became Prime Minister and President afterwards, and he had absolute rule until 1979 with the Ba'ath Party, and Saddam Hussein served as his deputy. He also fought against rebellious Kurds, and in 1978 he made it punishable by death if army soldiers or veterans were not Ba'athists. On 16 July 1979, his deputy Saddam Hussein and Iraqi General, and al-Bakr resigned due to health problems. He died in Baghdad in 1982 at the age of 68 from unknown causes.